So you REEEEEEEEEALLY wanna know who died? Read on... Just remember, action
sequences aren't my thing. You have been warned...
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Chapter Twenty
Kyp led the Twin Suns around the moon, checking for anomalies or even stray skips. Finding nothing after fifteen standard minutes, Kyp relaxed. "Well, looks like nothing out here's out of the ordinary," he commed. "Once the other squads get out here, we'll be home free."
Just then, he sensed a disturbance in the Force. Sitting up straight, he scanned the area around them and swore. "Kriffin' Vong can't even attack in the right place!" He grabbed the pilot's stick and abruptly swung his ship around. "Fall back, Twins, fall back!" he yelled frantically into the comm.
The X-Wings all turned to flee back towards the moon as the skips that had jumped in began opening fire. Yorik coral splashed everywhere, interspersed with some laser fire.
Kyp was swearing nonstop under his breath as he tried to get the squadron away from the Vong capital ships that had just jumped in-system. He knew his pilots could handle the smaller Vong ships, but going against one of the capital ships in an X-Wing was nothing less than suicide.
Just then, his comm crackled. "I-I'm stuck!" came the voice of Twins Seven, a human male named Seth. "There's-too many of them! I can't get free! I can't-" His message abruptly cut off as the blip that represented his ship disappeared from Kyp's displays.
"Force!" Kyp cried, slamming his fist against the console. Seth's death rippled through the Force as tears squeezed out of Kyp's eyes.
"Twins, turn and engage. We are sufficiently far away from the capital ships." Kyp's voice seemed to be detached from the rest of his body. He didn't realize he had spoken until he had already turned and begun firing. Come on, come on, where are the other squads? he yelled into the Force.
Switching on the stutter pattern, he sprayed one of the six skips converging on him with laser fire. Once the dovin basals overloaded, he let loose with a full-powered blast that exploded the yorik coral. Subconsciously he repeated the pattern as his mind tried to grasp the fact that Seth was dead. He hadn't known the man very well, but he had been a pilot flying under his command. And now he was dead.
Kyp's comm crackled once more. "Someone, I need help! There's a skip on my tail and I can't shake him!" This time, the panicked voice belonged to Lis.
Kyp swore even more viciously, cursing the last Vong pilot to a fiery hell. "Hang on, Six, I'm coming." He shot forward, spying Lis's X-Wing amid all the chaos of the battle. Dropping in neatly behind the skip on her tail, Kyp stuttered laserfire at the Vong ship. Knowing that he was dead, the pilot ignored the shots and instead concentrated on firing streams of plasma at Lis's ship.
Lis ducked and wove expertly, but the Vong tailing her was too experienced. He managed to clip one of her engines, which immediately sputtered and died. With reduced speed, Lis was a sitting gornt.
Kyp's curses were running together in a constant stream of profanity by now. Dispensing with the stutter technique, he instead launched a shadow bomb and watched with satisfaction as the skip exploded. He cursed again, though, when he realized that another one of Lis's engines had been taking out by debris. "Six, I want you outta there now," he gritted.
"But Lead-" Kyp cut her off.
"Lis, now. You're no good to the squadron if you're dead." He addressed her by name, not caring who could hear him.
Her sigh crackled in his ear. "Yes, sir," she said, and promptly pulled out of the engagement zone.
Kyp checked his boards. Two more Twins were EV, and no one was operating at optimal strength. Distracted at the moment, he didn't notice the skip on his tail until his astromech droid shrieked. Glancing at his ship's displays, he cursed again and again. Flicking on the comm, he yelled, "People, I need help! This kriffing Vong on my tail has taken out two of my engines, and my shields are failing fast."
The Vong sprayed another stream of plasma at Kyp's ship, hitting him directly. "My shields are gone! Help!" Checking the displays, Kyp saw that all the other Twins were busy. Reconciling himself, to death, Kyp closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. He knew his Force capabilities could only save him for so long before the Vong finally caught up to him. He was a dead man.
************************
Lis heard Kyp's cry for help. Hurriedly checking her monitors, she saw that all the Twins were busy fending off the Vong. She nearly screamed with frustration. Kyp was going to die if someone didn't help him!
She checked her ship's output displays and cursed. She was out of proton torpedoes. Her shields were barely functional. Two of her engines were gone, and her astromech was damaged.
Closing her eyes, Lis breathed deeply. She knew there was only one thing left to do. Kyp was far more important to the Rebellion than she could ever hope to be. He was a Jedi Master and an amazing pilot. She didn't even have a planet to call home. Agamar had been occupied by the Vong early on in the war, and despite Kyp's comforting words, she felt in her bones that her parents had not made it off. Mother, Daddy, I'm coming. And Daryn, I'll be seeing you soon, after all these years.
She opened her eyes, tears rolling down her face. She gripped the pilot's yoke and flipped on the comm.
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Just then, Kyp's comm crackled. "Kyp, I love you so much," came Lis's voice. "I don't blame you, and I'm doing this of my own choice. Goodbye, Kyp. I love you."
Kyp's eyes snapped open. "LIS, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" he screamed as her ship rammed the skip on his tail, causing an explosion that engulfed both ships. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"
His spirit writhed in agony as he felt Lis's death through the Force. He began chanting "no, no, no," in an endless litany, rocking back and forth in his pilot's couch. His heart had shattered with Lis's X-Wing. He kept waiting to wake up and find out it was all a bad dream, a nightmare. It wasn't happening. This was for real. Lis had just died, and she had taken Kyp's entire life with her.
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*SOB*...
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Chapter Twenty
Kyp led the Twin Suns around the moon, checking for anomalies or even stray skips. Finding nothing after fifteen standard minutes, Kyp relaxed. "Well, looks like nothing out here's out of the ordinary," he commed. "Once the other squads get out here, we'll be home free."
Just then, he sensed a disturbance in the Force. Sitting up straight, he scanned the area around them and swore. "Kriffin' Vong can't even attack in the right place!" He grabbed the pilot's stick and abruptly swung his ship around. "Fall back, Twins, fall back!" he yelled frantically into the comm.
The X-Wings all turned to flee back towards the moon as the skips that had jumped in began opening fire. Yorik coral splashed everywhere, interspersed with some laser fire.
Kyp was swearing nonstop under his breath as he tried to get the squadron away from the Vong capital ships that had just jumped in-system. He knew his pilots could handle the smaller Vong ships, but going against one of the capital ships in an X-Wing was nothing less than suicide.
Just then, his comm crackled. "I-I'm stuck!" came the voice of Twins Seven, a human male named Seth. "There's-too many of them! I can't get free! I can't-" His message abruptly cut off as the blip that represented his ship disappeared from Kyp's displays.
"Force!" Kyp cried, slamming his fist against the console. Seth's death rippled through the Force as tears squeezed out of Kyp's eyes.
"Twins, turn and engage. We are sufficiently far away from the capital ships." Kyp's voice seemed to be detached from the rest of his body. He didn't realize he had spoken until he had already turned and begun firing. Come on, come on, where are the other squads? he yelled into the Force.
Switching on the stutter pattern, he sprayed one of the six skips converging on him with laser fire. Once the dovin basals overloaded, he let loose with a full-powered blast that exploded the yorik coral. Subconsciously he repeated the pattern as his mind tried to grasp the fact that Seth was dead. He hadn't known the man very well, but he had been a pilot flying under his command. And now he was dead.
Kyp's comm crackled once more. "Someone, I need help! There's a skip on my tail and I can't shake him!" This time, the panicked voice belonged to Lis.
Kyp swore even more viciously, cursing the last Vong pilot to a fiery hell. "Hang on, Six, I'm coming." He shot forward, spying Lis's X-Wing amid all the chaos of the battle. Dropping in neatly behind the skip on her tail, Kyp stuttered laserfire at the Vong ship. Knowing that he was dead, the pilot ignored the shots and instead concentrated on firing streams of plasma at Lis's ship.
Lis ducked and wove expertly, but the Vong tailing her was too experienced. He managed to clip one of her engines, which immediately sputtered and died. With reduced speed, Lis was a sitting gornt.
Kyp's curses were running together in a constant stream of profanity by now. Dispensing with the stutter technique, he instead launched a shadow bomb and watched with satisfaction as the skip exploded. He cursed again, though, when he realized that another one of Lis's engines had been taking out by debris. "Six, I want you outta there now," he gritted.
"But Lead-" Kyp cut her off.
"Lis, now. You're no good to the squadron if you're dead." He addressed her by name, not caring who could hear him.
Her sigh crackled in his ear. "Yes, sir," she said, and promptly pulled out of the engagement zone.
Kyp checked his boards. Two more Twins were EV, and no one was operating at optimal strength. Distracted at the moment, he didn't notice the skip on his tail until his astromech droid shrieked. Glancing at his ship's displays, he cursed again and again. Flicking on the comm, he yelled, "People, I need help! This kriffing Vong on my tail has taken out two of my engines, and my shields are failing fast."
The Vong sprayed another stream of plasma at Kyp's ship, hitting him directly. "My shields are gone! Help!" Checking the displays, Kyp saw that all the other Twins were busy. Reconciling himself, to death, Kyp closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. He knew his Force capabilities could only save him for so long before the Vong finally caught up to him. He was a dead man.
************************
Lis heard Kyp's cry for help. Hurriedly checking her monitors, she saw that all the Twins were busy fending off the Vong. She nearly screamed with frustration. Kyp was going to die if someone didn't help him!
She checked her ship's output displays and cursed. She was out of proton torpedoes. Her shields were barely functional. Two of her engines were gone, and her astromech was damaged.
Closing her eyes, Lis breathed deeply. She knew there was only one thing left to do. Kyp was far more important to the Rebellion than she could ever hope to be. He was a Jedi Master and an amazing pilot. She didn't even have a planet to call home. Agamar had been occupied by the Vong early on in the war, and despite Kyp's comforting words, she felt in her bones that her parents had not made it off. Mother, Daddy, I'm coming. And Daryn, I'll be seeing you soon, after all these years.
She opened her eyes, tears rolling down her face. She gripped the pilot's yoke and flipped on the comm.
************************
Just then, Kyp's comm crackled. "Kyp, I love you so much," came Lis's voice. "I don't blame you, and I'm doing this of my own choice. Goodbye, Kyp. I love you."
Kyp's eyes snapped open. "LIS, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" he screamed as her ship rammed the skip on his tail, causing an explosion that engulfed both ships. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"
His spirit writhed in agony as he felt Lis's death through the Force. He began chanting "no, no, no," in an endless litany, rocking back and forth in his pilot's couch. His heart had shattered with Lis's X-Wing. He kept waiting to wake up and find out it was all a bad dream, a nightmare. It wasn't happening. This was for real. Lis had just died, and she had taken Kyp's entire life with her.
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*SOB*...